VMA-214 Black Sheep - Squadron Page Preview
Marine Attack Squadron 214, the Black Sheep, was commissioned at MCAS Ewa, Hawaii, on July 1, 1942. The Black Sheep identity dates from August 1943 and became one of the best-known squadron identities in Marine Corps aviation.
The squadron served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and later Pacific deployments. VMA-214 received its first A4D-2 Skyhawks in January 1962 and remained a Skyhawk squadron for roughly twenty-seven years before transitioning to the AV-8B Harrier era.
Lineage and Highlights
- 1 July 1942: commissioned at MCAS Ewa, Hawaii.
- 7 August 1943: the Black Sheep identity begins.
- 1943-1945: combat operations in the Pacific during World War II.
- August 1950: entered Korean War combat operations.
- January 1962: began operating the Douglas A4D-2 Skyhawk.
- 1965-1967: Black Sheep Skyhawks operated from Iwakuni and Chu Lai during the Vietnam War.
- September 1987: relocated to MCAS Yuma.
- 1989: began transition from the Skyhawk era to the AV-8B Harrier.
Skyhawk Aircraft
VMA-214 operated the A-4B, A-4C, A-4E, A-4F, and A-4M during its long Skyhawk period. Individual aircraft assignment histories are maintained through Gabby's Histories rather than duplicated in a giant table on this landing page.
Gabby's Histories is an aircraft-history research source. It is separate from the squadron photo archive.
Photographs
The VMA-214 photographic collection has been moved out of the landing page and into the standard five-column squadron photo archive.
Historical Research
The preserved legacy VMA-214 page contains the much larger historical collection: lineage notes, commanding officers, deployments, mishaps, awards, historical photographs, source attributions, and the original aircraft-assignment material gathered over many years.
Help Improve This History
Additional photographs, corrections, dates, names, aircraft identities, and firsthand recollections are welcome. Research contributions should retain their source attribution so later historians can distinguish Gabby's records, Kid's ongoing research, legacy material, and new contributions.